


Saccharine

by PerfectlyHopeless



Series: Fenalla Shorts [2]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Canon Divergence, Cathar Smuggler, F/M, just adding some more to what was given, post KOTET reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 17:25:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14720438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerfectlyHopeless/pseuds/PerfectlyHopeless
Summary: Somehow she always knew that they'd see each other again.





	Saccharine

**Author's Note:**

> My smuggler, Fenalla, is my absolute favorite of my SWTOR OCs and I got very emotional while playing through the reunion, and as much as I enjoyed it I pictured things going a little differently. So I added a little more to it. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

 

It had been close to two years since Lana freed Fenalla from her carbonite tomb. A number of months since she took control of the Eternal Fleet and started her work repairing the damage done by Vaylin. Months since she’d heard last Valkorion's grating voice in her head. It was a blissful silence, but she was still plagued with nightmares. Fenalla had since made peace with this new reality. It was hardly a price to pay in exchange for having her head to herself again.

In those two years too much had changed. Leader of the Alliance, she’d had to adapt very quickly to the new role forced upon her. She’d taken to wearing a short leather jacket over a strappy top that barely covered her chest not long after getting stabbed through the gut by Arcann’s lightsaber. The white and black tabby pattern down her pale gold torso were shown off alongside the scar left behind. It was a way of claiming back some amount of power for herself. She’d come way too close to death for someone who utterly hated any amount pain, but she had no plans of putting on heavy armor. She liked wearing it, and the gnarly scar had earned her points among the Mandalorians.

Around her neck she continued wearing the chain with her silver wedding band threaded on it, keeping it covered with a bandana when she went out. It stayed safe enough, the little lucky charm never failing to give her the extra little burst of motivation that she needed.

She sat on the bed in the Captain’s cabin of her ship while the autopilot took her across the galaxy from Odessen to Nar Shaddaa, fidgeting with the ring with her claws. The engraving on the inside made her smile, Corso’s little message of “ _You make me so happy”_ always reassuring. Hylo had spoken to her before she’d left about Skavak trying to get in touch with her. Fenalla hadn’t heard that name in almost a dozen years and it made her feel ridiculously old, even though biologically speaking she was only 30 years old. She didn’t count the five years that passed while she was frozen. She refused to, especially since she hadn’t aged mentally or physically while under. It’d felt more like five hours than five years.

If she'd learned anything from the recent events of her life, it was that people these days didn’t seem to like staying dead. Fenalla wasn’t willing to take the chance that the bastard that had stolen her ship all those years ago might be alive, and whoever was using the name to get to her had definitely succeeded in getting under her skin.

Nar Shaddaa was the same as always, all neon lights and holograms. Once upon a time she counted herself among the rabble doing things less than legal to get by. She would always be a smuggler, even if Hylo wouldn’t let her ship join the small fleet of freighters. Part of her missed working for credits, exploring the galaxy and just going where the jobs were. But she had a responsibility to her people. She’d be responsible again once she figured out who was out here claiming to be a corpse.

The coordinates for the meeting place Fenalla received took her to one of the city’s many cantinas. Instead of a person waiting for her, she found a model of her ship with a note attached. More coordinates were written in a careful script that looked vaguely familiar. The second set led her to a merchant stall, the rodian behind the counter paying attention to a customer while Fenalla stared at a replica of the severed head she’d delivered to that snob on Alderaan. Her bright gold eyes went wide at the sight of it bobbing in the greenish fluid, yet another set of coordinates written across the forehead in the same script.

Fenalla copied then down before turning to the merchant. “Did you see who left this here?”

He turned to glance at the head, a disinterested look on his face before he shrugged and carried on. She growled a little before huffing and jogging off.

The final set of coordinates took her to another cantina, the largest on this side of the city. She eyed her little map as she got closer and closer, pulling her blaster from her hip as she started up the stairs, eyes narrowing as she approached an open room with little furniture. Fenalla kept her blaster drawn in front of her, on edge as she entered.

“Hey there, Captain,” she heard from the side. Fenalla froze at the sound of that voice, her eyes going wide and her blaster lowering as she saw Corso and Risha casually walking up to her. They looked almost exactly the same, the past years barely touching their faces.

“Told you she’d fall for it,” Risha said to him. “You owe me twenty credits.”

Fenalla was speechless, her blaster falling from her fingers to the ground as she leapt forward towards them, gathering them both in her arms. The two were caught off guard as their old Captain choked on a sob. “I missed you big idiots so much,” she finally managed, the both of them sandwiching her in a hug that made her cry even harder.

“We missed you too,” Corso and Risha said, not quite in sync with each other.

She felt the tears fall down her cheeks as she gave them another squeeze before stepping back and palming at her face. “You’d better have a good explanation for all this.”

Risha smiled at her, “As much as I loved the look on your face, the fake name wasn’t just for our amusement.”

The three of them started for a couch, Fenalla clinging to Corso’s arm as though she couldn’t believe it was him. “We searched high and low for you, Fen,” he said. “Spent every credit we had, and some we didn’t. Even used Count Rineld’s contacts.”

“Then Rineld was murdered during peace talks on Dubrillion,” Risha said, some bitterness in her words. “The king wanted his enemies dead, and it was clear I was next.”

“So she went into hiding, and I went with her,” Corso continued, almost as though they’d rehearsed how they’d tell this story. “We thought we were belly up, ‘til Risha thought of using Skavak’s name to earn a few credits on the sly.”

Risha smirked at this. “It’s not like he was still using it.”

Fenalla shook her head. “If you were in trouble, you should’ve come to me for help.”

“We didn’t know if you were really alive, or if it was a ploy to lure us out of hiding,” Risha explained. “Besides the situation resolved itself. Our luck changed when Vaylin’s fleet sacked Dubrillion. After that… there wasn’t much left to be king of anymore. He fled along with his nobles. Dubrillion’s gone, and my reign as queen ended before it began. Believe me, I’ve had enough of planetary politics to last a lifetime.”

“You and me both,” Fenalla sighed, following Risha as she paced across the room.

“Guess we need to find a new crew to join,” Corso started, sounding a little melancholy. “Get a fresh start.”

Fenalla turned towards him and shook her head. “Don’t gimme that crap. The only crew that you two are joining is mine. The Alliance is a bit bigger than what you’ve been doing, but Hylo will get you started.”

Risha blinked at this, her eyes going wide. “Hylo? As in Hylo Visz?”

She flashed a sharp toothed grin at her sister figure. “The one and only.”

Risha smiled back. “Well, we can’t argue with a request like that.”

“I knew you couldn’t,” she smiled, her hands on her hips. She looked over at Corso, the smile softening as their gazes met.

He stepped a little closer to her. “It feels like I’ve waited a lifetime to return to you, Fen.”

Risha sighed, starting to walk off. “That’s my cue…”

“My ship’s in her usual docking bay!” Fenalla shouted after her. “You know the one!”

Risha waved her off, smiling as she left the two alone together.

Fenalla looked up at Corso, the scars on his face still familiar to her after so long, his bright blue eyes shining against his farmer’s tanned skin.

He smiled softly at her. “I spent years thinking about what I’d say when I finally saw your beautiful face again.”

“What’d you come up with?” she asked, smiling back.

He laughed at himself. “I’m too happy to remember a word of it. I guess I’ll just settle for, I love you, Fen.” Fenalla felt her face flush with warmth and she bit at her lower lip. “I know we have a lot of lost time to make up for. And you’ve probably met a hundred charming, handsome men since I lost you,” he took her hands in his, almost marveling as though he could hardly believe she was there, “but I’ll do whatever it takes to win your heart again. Just let me come back to you.”

She squeezed his hands before reaching up to cradle his scarred cheek in her gloved palm, running her thumb across the soft lines that marked him as older than her. “You don’t have to win my heart, Corso,” she assured him. “You’ve always had it.”

He broke into a smile, getting choked up himself. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear that?” Fenalla could only grin as he pulled her to him by the waist, catching her lips with his and kissing her with a kind of desperation she’d hoped they’d never feel again. She felt a tear slip down her cheek as she kissed him back, clinging to his jacket and wrapping her arms around his torso when they finally broke the kiss. Corso hugged her to his chest, arms around her shoulders. He kissed the top of her head like he used to.

“I’m so happy,” she breathed out. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too,” he said softly. She looked up at his face and saw his eyes welling up, a couple tears on his cheeks. Fenalla reached up to wipe them away, stepping back just a bit but holding onto his hands.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s get to my ship. Theron found my old freighter for me a while back. I’m assuming you guys sold it?”

Corso held her hand as they walked out. “In our defense, we went broke trying to find you.”

“I can’t believe you sold my ship,” she huffed, lacing their fingers together. “For the record, I didn’t just leave you guys. I’d never do that.”

“I never thought you left,” Corso assured her. “What happened to you, anyways? The holonet’s nothing but rumors.”

“I was stuck in a carbonite prison for five years,” she said, Corso’s steps faltering at this. “Lana Beniko’s the one who rescued me.”

He stared down at her. “Fen…”

“Let’s wait until we’re on the ship,” she said. “I want Risha to know, too.”

Corso squeezed her hand. “Alright.”

The two walked in comfortable silence the rest of the way to the spaceport, just happy to be with each other again. Risha was waiting for them on the ship, wandering around.

“I can’t believe it’s the same ship as before,” she said. “It’s like nothing ever changed.”

Fenalla looked around her ship, smiling to herself. “Yeah.”

“Just like old times,” Risha said.

The cathar scoffed. “Old for you guys. In my head, it’s only been two years since we last saw each other.”

Risha frowned at this, her brows pinched in the middle. “Two years?”

The three of them sat on the couch in the common room while the ship’s autopilot started the trip back to wild space, Fenalla tucked under Corso’s arm and playing with his hand while she spoke. She started at the beginning, telling them about what happened after she told them to escape. How Arcann had her frozen until Lana freed her. How Valkorion infested her mind. She told them about getting stabbed with Arcann’s lightsaber, showed them the scar. She told them about the Alliance’s formation, finding Bowdaar and Guss. Defeating Arcann, then saving him from his sister. Teaming up with Arcann to go against his sister. Fighting to reclaim her own body from the villain that wanted to use her as his next vessel.

“We’re doing a lot right now, using the fleet to help rebuild the galaxy. It’s pretty intimidating, so feel free to back out now if you think it’s too much.”

“Back out!?” Risha said, almost offended. “You went through all that, without us.”

“I got a good deal, I think,” Fenalla said, lacing her fingers with Corso’s and cuddling up to him. “Without you guys, I had to make a new family. Lana, Theron, and the rest of them. I love them. They’ve been there for me. But you guys were in my life first. And now I’ve got you back. I couldn’t ask for better people to have in my life.”

The three of them spent the rest of the afternoon just trying to catch up on all the years that they’d been gone, Fenalla taking the chances she could to poke fun at her friends. They’d all been the same age before she was frozen, and now she couldn’t help but tease them for being ‘so old’. It particularly irked Risha, while Corso made jokes about Fenalla liking older men. They were themselves again, only this time Risha didn’t treat Corso like an idiot. Their years as partners had clearly changed them. They were more matured. Fenalla had grown too, in different ways and for different reasons. None of them were the same as they had been seven years ago. But they were willing to make up for the lost time, and that was more than Fenalla could have ever hoped for.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! If you're so inclined, please leave a comment! Otherwise, I hope you have a good day ^_^


End file.
